Thursday, March 02, 2006

UBS: United Beaner Service... "What Can Brown Do For You?"

February 18th found Keith and I in Atlantic City, New Jersey. I had never been there before, so I was really excited...

Until I got there. But we'll get to that later!

First...................... We had a wonderful time at the House of Blues! Right on the boardwalk, the House of Blues sits within the Showboat Hotel and Casino.




Yeah...it looks pretty...but it was FREEZING!!!! If you came to a spot where there were no buildings, you felt like you were in March of the Penguins!!! Sheesh!
I might consider wanting to see the boardwalk again when the weather is warm. It bites in February!

Inside though was warm and toasty. We had great seats for one of my favorite comedians, CARLOS MENCIA! Now I have to admit, I did not know of him in his early days before his Comedy Central Show, Mind of Mencia, but I'm an enthusiastic fan now. He was so nice and friendly! He spent the time before and after the show to sign autographs, take pictures, and speak with his fans. Here I got a chance to speak with him myself. This was after the show because they didn't allow cameras in during the show...so I ran out, claimed my coat and camera, and ran back in to stand in the line to meet him. (I don't know what's up with my glasses, but man that glare makes me look evil!)



Many people might think he is rather harsh with the topics he speaks on. Sure, at first glance it may seem that way. You kind of have to be willing to accept that ethnic groups in America are just the way they are, and there's nothing wrong with pointing it out. For me, a lot of his work hits home and makes me think of riding in the car with my grandpa...the things he would say about the "Messcans", and how he made me feel proud to be who I am. It is a lesson that took me until recently to learn... and now watching or listening to Carlos Mencia's comedy, I feel like I have finally accepted my place in America. I'm a beaner, and I'm proud. Not familiar with Carlos? Check him out on Comedy Central, and at his website: www.carlosmencia.com

Now...as for Atlantic City...


What a sh*t hole! I was not impressed at all. The parking garages charged you to park, very few restaraunts were open past midnight, and there just wasn't all that much there to see. We visited Showboat, Caesar's, Bally's Wild West, and Borgata. The only one that was mildly impressive of that limited list was Borgata, but barely anything was open to eat! We ended up at Denny's near our hotel a mile away from the main scene. It was weird... you would have big hotel/casino, then a block of questionable buildings. It was like old hotels from Vegas were picked up and plunked down here in New Jersey. It seemed really out of place. I asked the parking attendant at Caesar's if she could recommend a good place to eat. I thought she said Mack Donough's, which sounded like it would be a reasonable place to go. She gave me directions, and I said, "What was the name of it again?" She looked at me a little puzzled like, "How could you have never heard of it?" She repeated, "Mack Donough's". We pulled out of the lot and carefully followed her directions... and there it was... to my dismay...MC DONALD's!! Now I know we did not come all the way out to Jersey just to eat at McDonald's!!!!! An hour later we were debating between Dunkin Donuts and Wawa (An east coast convenient store known for good sandwiches) when finally we saw Denny's. Salvation!

And then there was snow...

Okay... I'm really late at posting this one, but the weekend before Valentine's Day we had quite a snowfall. Winter has been mild this year, but suddenly....PLOP! Here is what our house looked like that Saturday. I didn't really capture any good shots of the kids, I'm afraid. I'm losing my touch!